Rachel Rosen
Staff Writer
Deriving artistic inspiration from his everyday life, sophomore Leo Schleyer splatters his emotions onto canvases in hopes of inspiring through his paintings.
Schleyer has been interested in art his whole life, but he only started creating his own paintings two years ago. Schleyer has always liked drawing, but his transition to painting brought him to a new level of expression, he said.
“I started painting because it allows me to express myself in a unique way,” Schleyer said. “I am an emotional person, so I paint whatever I feel. I kind of black out when I start painting, and my body does the rest.”
Schleyer believes it is an incredibly rewarding feeling to create something on his own.
“Leo has always been a very artistic person whether it’s his stylish clothing or detailed paintings,” sophomore and friend Michael Davidov said. “His art is so special because it connects to his personality and creativity. There are nothing like his paintings.”
Schleyer generally sets one day of the week aside for painting and later adds to his paintings when he has extra free time. Each piece takes about two to three months to complete.
“I’m starting to use painting as a platform to send a message to people,” Schleyer said. “I am trying to transition into something purposeful.”
Schleyer is a self-taught artist. His favorite style of painting is realism, but he hopes to start transitioning toward more original pieces. His paintings range from Donald Trump and Jesus Christ to a man walking in the desert.
“My favorite piece by Leo is the close-up painting of the man walking on the sand in a hat,” Davidov said. “There is so much detail and character. I have never seen anything like it.”
Since Schleyer is solely painting as a hobby, he has not sold any paintings to people yet. He either keeps the paintings for himself or gives them to friends or family. Schleyer’s most recent painting was a political motivation. It is important for him to create art that can be interpreted in any way the viewer would like, so he never reveals the true meaning of his artwork, he said.
“My plan right now is to just keep doing what I’m doing,” Schleyer said. “I’ve had people ask me to sell some of my paintings, but that was never really my intention. I guess we’ll see what happens next.”
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